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Is It Social Anxiety, Introversion, Extroversion or The Traits of Being a Highly Sensitive Person, aka, HSP?

GUEST

Solo Episode

EPISODE OVERVIEW

Many Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) have experienced going into a social situation and getting overaroused and overstimulated. When we don't know about the trait of being an HSP, we just know it feels terrible, and we tend to avoid these situations. When we know about the trait of High Sensitivity, we can see what works for us, and tease out what doesn't work for us. We have the capacity to experience much more when we are able to understand exactly what we need in these situations.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Social Anxiety, introversion and the confusion with graphics/memes about introversion
• Anxiety, depression, social anxiety are real, and I'm not indicating that these are not real things that people struggle with
• I thought I had social anxiety and I thought I was an introvert
• Much of what is written about introversion (memes and graphics) also include the traits of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)
• When we mistakenly think we're introverts, we may be missing out on things, that we are able to tolerate and might actually enjoy
• Once we understand why we struggle, and we learn to interpret the sensations we're experiencing, we may realize that it's not social anxiety or anxiety
• We feel things strongly, and we want to have meaningful connections
• We may have experienced overstimulation when we were younger, but didn't realize what it was, and we paired it with the social situation, so we tend to avoid these things because we didn't understand
• Misconception about introverts and extroverts with the analogy of the battery. This may be true to NON-HSPS
• When we read about introversion and it includes the traits of being an HSP, but it doesn't say that, we may thing we need to avoid social situations, but it's not what we need
• We may go into a social situation and be unable to connect, but we inaccurately think some is wrong with us, but it may be that we are trying to connect with someone who has difficulty with deep connection
• We may tell ourselves that we can't connect because there's something wrong with us, but we may be trying to connect with others who don't connect easily
• With introversion, you want to look at the 4 Core Characteristics that Dr. Elaine Aron provides
  • Depth of Processing
    • We are deep thinkers and we don't do well with chit chat or small talk
  • Overarousal and Overstimulation
    • We take in so much information that we can get saturated very quickly
    • We notice things in the environment that others don't
    • We may need to be more mindful about how we use our energy when we go into social situations
  • Emotional Responsiveness and Empathy
    • We feel things deeply and we're going to be more emotionally impacted than non-HSPs
  • Sensitive to Subtleties
    • We notice non-verbal cues and other things when we interact
    • We can also be sensitive to bright lights, strong smells, loud noises
  • Even a Highly Sensitive Extrovert will most likely prefer a more quiet environment with a few friends, and then will need time to regenerate mand recharge
  • Highly Sensitive Extroverts need to find their sweet spot of getting enough stimulation.
  • When we withdraw thinking that's what we need, we may feel depressed or listless if we're a HS extrovert
  • We can manage in environments that are not HS friendly under the right circumstances
  • It's also not uncommon that as Highly Sensitive People, we may resist or not want to travel, but when we do, we find out we can manage much better than we think we can
  • There are so many ways we can work with our traits to manage overwhelm and overstimulation
  • It's an ongoing process and we need to work on it, but we can live fuller lives
  • When you see graphics about introversion, please check and see if they're talking a Highly Sensitive person
  • Jaquelyn Strickland talks about introverting and extroverting as a verb
  • These labels can put us in a box and limit us, or can free us up and give us more freedom about our traits

PODCAST HOST

Patricia Young works with Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) helping them to understand their HSP traits, and turning their perceived shortcomings into superpowers. Patricia is passionate about providing education to help HSPs and non-HSPs understand and truly appreciate the amazing gifts they have to offer. Patricia works globally online with HSPs providing coaching. Patricia also facilitates online groups for HSPs that focus on building community and developing skills (identifying your superpowers, boundaries, perfectionism, dealing with conflict, mindfulness, embracing emotions, creating a lifestyle that supports the HSP, communication and more).

LINKS

Introversion, Extroversion and the Highly Sensitive Person by Jaquelyn Strickland https://hsperson.com/introversion-extroversion-and-the-highly-sensitive-person/

Website--www.unapologeticallysensitive.com

Facebook-- https://www.facebook.com/Unapologetically-Sensitive-2296688923985657/

Facebook group Unapologetically Sensitive-- https://www.facebook.com/groups/2099705880047619/

Instagram-- https://www.instagram.com/unapologeticallysensitive/

Youtube-- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOE6fodj7RBdO3Iw0NrAllg/videos?view_as=subscriber

e-mail-- [email protected]

Show hashtag--#unapologeticallysensitive

Music-- Gravel Dance by Andy Robinson www.andyrobinson.com